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CHHS Students Honor Dr. King through Education, Community, and Service

Croton Harmon High School Students Take an Active Role in Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Through Education, Community, and Service

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed on the third Monday in January in honor of his birthday, and the holiday’s history is almost as storied as the man himself. Shortly after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968, a campaign was launched to designate his birthday as a federal holiday. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed the bill into law. 

Leading up to this national holiday, school celebrations across the country can be as diverse as those who participate in honoring his legacy. For a team of CHHS educators, a holiday that was 32 years in the making bears significance. “Every year we have a three-day weekend for MLK Day, and not all students have an appreciation for the ‘why.’ In recent years, the MLK Day of Service has taken off in schools, including colleges. I am glad we could offer this day of service and education to interested students in this special way,” said Zoha Nadeem, CHHS school counselor. “We hope to keep Dr. King’s legacy alive by helping students develop leadership skills and strengthen school and community connections,” added Kerri Tracy, CHHS health education teacher.  

On Friday, January 17th, 33 students participated in the first CHHS MLK Day of Service & Education. The day-long program was a collaboration between Croton-Harmon High School teachers and students that included a full day of presentations, workshops, and activities that took place off campus at the Croton Free Library. Morning sessions included introductions and group discussions led by student committee members. “Today we honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.,” said Katie, a CHHS student. “Our purpose is to create connections with one another and our larger community. Building leadership skills while learning the importance of education and community service.” David, a CHHS sophomore and student leader, read a passage from Martin Luther King Jr.’s “World House” - Dr. King’s vision for a global community, unity, and interdependence where humanity is interconnected and must live together in peace and justice. Using Socratic Seminar questions as a guide, the students reflected on the reading and drew parallels to unity and kindness in global and local societies. 

Following the introduction, the students were divided into groups rotating through workshops that included a collaborative annotative exercise analyzing passages from Letters From a Birghmington Jail and an art activity in which students designed a disc using inspiring quotes to be assembled to create a portable and flexible sculpture to be displayed in the high school.

The third workshop was a presentation on the connection between Dr. King and Cesar Chavez by ENL students Darwin Medina, Adrian Lara, and Kelvin Echegaray. “It’s important to recognize the individuals and work that came before and after Dr. King. That lens provided a context that was key for our English language learners,’ said Ms. Nadeem. “This wasn’t just happening within a certain culture or community. In the Hispanic community, Cesar Chavez was fighting similar injustices,” added Ms. Yannarelli-Shaw, ENL teacher. The students' presentation was a three-month-long research project on the legacy and impact Cesar Chavez had on establishing worker rights for Latin Americans. “Both Martin Luther King Jr. and Cesar Chavez were active in the 1960s, but they never knew each other. We discovered that Cesar Chavez took inspiration from Dr. King’s speeches and peaceful protests. We wanted to bring our community into the conversation about fighting for causes,” said Adrian. “If these two powerful people had been able to work together, imagine the millions of possibilities there would have been,” added Darwin.

After the morning sessions, the group of students and teachers sat in a large circle in the library’s Ottinger Room to reflect on the stories of others and to honor their own stories with bravery, compassion, and respect. Symbolizing the moment, afterward, the group participated in a "string of unity and gratitude" activity. “These students are the embodiment of connectedness,” said Ms. Nadeem. “There is value in telling and sharing stories. They don’t have to be kept in the dark, they can be brought into the light where we all shine.” 

The CHHS MLK Day of Service and Education concluded with community service circles and community service brainstorming sessions with representatives from local organizations Croton Caring, My Sisters’ Place, and the Croton IDEA Advisory Board. “Doing what you can within your community can create a ripple effect. That’s why we wanted to create this day and event. We hope that students develop their act of service and take ownership of it so that in the spring they can carry it out in the community.” said Ms. Nadeem.

The two student committee leaders, sophomores David Yan and James Buestan, will be taking the lead on next year’s program thereby making it a fully student-led experience. They both shared their thoughts on the day and their hopes for MLK Day of Service and Education in years to come. “I was a little nervous at first, but as the day progressed, it felt really good,” said David. “I’m proud of what we accomplished,” said James. “We’re going to take what we learned from this first experience and make it even bigger and better next year.”